T11M

I am currently returning home from Washington, DC.  The flight is long as usual, but I have some outstanding news.  I have taken a job with HouseCall IT.  The process has been incredibly swift and exciting and now I am slated to start work in 3 weeks.  My guess is the next 3 weeks is going to be a whirlwind of activity as we pack our belongings and move to DC.  I am incredibly excited and certain that many people are going to ask how it all happened, so here it is:

Kendra has always had the dream of living in a large city.  After her trip to the Inauguration that dream was revitalized and she begged me to consider moving to DC.  I had been in the process of finding a full time position doing IT work for a good six months.  As I’m sure everyone knows the economy is in a bit of a funk right now and jobs are few and far between.  At the point when Kendra asked if we could move to DC, I had been rejected for a couple of jobs and was fed up with the way things in Eugene were looking.  So I agreed and we set out a goal – we wanted to be living in DC with one of us fully employed by the end of September 2009.  That was a pretty conservative goal and would give us plenty of time to save money and prepare for a 3,000 mile move.  However, our plans rapidly changed.

Anna Sohriakoff was one of Kendra’s college roommates.  She currently works for Senator Bunning as a scheduler.  Through her time in DC she became acquainted with some of the HouseCall IT staff and, when we mentioned to her that we were looking forward jobs, forwarded my resume on to them.  Unbelievably we were having our first conference call about 2 weeks later.  During that call they said that my qualifications were perfect for an entry level position and they were very impressed by my blog (which you must be too, since you are still here reading).  We had another interview about a week later at which time we made plans to have me fly out to DC so that I could see the business, meet the people, and they could get to know me better.  That week long trial run/interview was this past week and I enjoyed every minute of it.  The work is fast paced, the people are outstanding, and unlike my current job they do not micromanage what-so-ever.  For those of you who have been micromanaged, I’m sure you know how freeing it is to finally get out from under the thumb of your boss.  All of a sudden you feel trusted and it makes you that much happier with your life (at least that’s how it is working for me).

The basics of my new job are pretty amazing.  I will be assigned a number of Congressional offices and will be responsible for helping them with all technology issues ranging from basic computer use to Blackberry support to regular server and backup maintenance.  It will be my responsibility to ensure that each of these offices needs are being met daily.  At the same time I will not be alone as I will be a part of a team of about 14 people who perform almost exactly the same function.  If I need help, I can readily gain access to it and I will be able to add my knowledge and expertise into the mix.

I’m extremely excited about this opportunity and am looking forward to our move to DC.  That being said, if my blog posts become fewer and longer between, please be patient I will be back as soon as I will pick back up as soon as I am able.